Sedimental Journey
by Random Guise
Summary: Movieverse, based on the 1968 film "Charly". Alice Kinnian is grasping at straws when trying to find help for Charly Gordon - but sometimes straws are all you have left when trying to help the man you love. I don't own the characters from the movie, but I do own a brain even if I choose not to use it.


**A/N: Movieverse; a short to follow the 1968 movie "Charly" which was an adaptation of the story and novel "Flowers for Algernon".**

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Sedimental Journey

Alice Kinnian waited nervously in the anteroom of the Boston office. The few people that had been waiting before she arrived had been called by their respective doctors, and now she was the only one left sitting in the otherwise empty room. She began to wonder if she had gotten the day wrong, but eventually the door leading into a maze of examining rooms opened and a nurse appeared.

"Miss Kinnian? The doctor will see you now." Alice arose and followed the nurse through the open door and past several closed ones until she was led into an interview room.

"Please have a seat; the doctor will be with you shortly" the nurse offered before leaving, closing the door behind her. Alice barely had time to begin the process of looking around the room when there was a soft rap on the door before it was opened. A young man walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Miss Kinnian, I presume; I'm Doctor Stewart." He offered his hand and Alice shook it lightly. "Good to meet you rather than talking over the phone" he said as he walked around his desk and sat in the chair behind it. To the surprise of Alice, he actually put his feet up on the corner of the desk; already he was showing signs of being a little unconventional. His young age may or may not have had something to do with his demeanor. "You'll excuse me, but I've been on my feet for hours and I need to take the weight off of them. The body of a twenty-eight year old, but the feet of a centenarian, I'm afraid" he laughed.

Alice smiled; not only from the joke, but also because she noticed the name plaque on the desk - Dr. Stuart Stewart. The doctor noticed her looking.

"No, it's really my name" he said in anticipation of the question. "My parents were trying to honor my grandfather, and just figured I'd use my middle name when I got into school. I had different ideas and kept it to see people's reactions - maybe that's why I got into medicine and how people think. Speaking of thinking, people thinking is what you are here for today I believe?" he half-stated, half-asked as a way for Alice to get comfortable by talking.

"Yes. I know our conversation on the phone was brief, but you already knew about Charly Gordon and his procedure that was done in an attempt to eliminate his learning difficulties" she started.

"Oh indeed, it caused quite a buzz with some of our specialists in the field. They were split on if it would ever work to begin with, and after it succeeded they were split again on why the results weren't permanent. The surgery wasn't reversed of course, but somehow the brain adapted and managed to return to its former impairment level." The doctor shook his head while clucking a disapproving sound. "It was such a pity. The early results were so promising."

"And I know that it isn't simply a matter of an additional surgery" Alice went on. "You don't rush in and extract a tooth after it's already been pulled, if you'll pardon the analogy."

"Not at all; it's a very good description, actually. I've personally worked with Doctor Nemur, and although I haven't had the honor with Dr. Straus I have studied some of her work. Both of them have some brilliant ideas on the physical aspects of the brain; we know so little about it, really, that any knowledge gained is extraordinarily helpful."

"But your approach is different" she said hopefully.

"Yes it is; whereas my colleagues have approached it strictly from the physical aspect of the problem and how it could be alleviated by surgery, I've looked into the chemical side of the problem. My original impetus was to help those suffering for memory loss due to accidents or illness. I have a hypothesis that memory is layered in the brain, at least to some degree. Even with all the convolutions of the brain's topography, there are only so many sites available to store memories. These are stored, at least in part, chemically. My theory is that even for those with memory loss, the memories still exist; the recall mechanisms of the brain simply can't access them for the patient to remember properly because newer memories have been stored on top of the old ones."

"But you don't actually make a person smarter, right?"

"Right. We still haven't defined intelligence enough for my tastes, much less how it works. But - and this is a big but - if part of the equation is memories, then it might be possible to restore some function by removing the top layers to expose the memories underneath. Granted it's only a theory, but you can think of it like layers of sediment on the bottom of a river. As the layers build up, what was underneath becomes hidden. My process, which I somewhat whimsically like to call a "sedimental journey", carefully scours off the top layer of the memory storage area chemically. Theoretically the patient would regain their older memories again."

"But what if you, I don't know, scrape off too much?"

"That could be a problem; naturally, great caution would be used to treat the patient and I would use a minimalist approach to the application. It's new territory after all; we've got one shot at it and I have to estimate the amount of treatment to hopefully uncover his productive period."

"And won't the brain just 'cover up' those old memories again with new ones like before?" she asked.

"That was what I thought would happen, but it doesn't seem to be the case in my test animals. I don't understand the process why it doesn't, at least for the most part. There might be something like a neural reset that takes place during the process. That's why I have hopes that Charly might be an excellent test subject. From what you've told me, he currently exhibits the same intellectual level that he had prior to the surgery."

"That's right. All the strides he made were lost for some reason as he regressed. I'm hoping to get the Charly that emerged after he was operated on." Alice started to sniffle. "I know he's in there somewhere. I just want that part of him to wake up." She removed a tissue from a pocket and dabbed her eyes. "Sorry," she apologized "I promised myself I wouldn't do that."

Stuart waited for her to compose herself, but he saw that she was fighting a losing battle. "I can't say I understand how you feel, but just the fact that you sought me out tells me you care for the man very much. There are risks of course, and there is a chance there will be no effect at all. How does Charly feel about it?"

"He's frustrated because he wants to be smarter; he doesn't seem to remember the time when he was or else he might remember...remember..." she broke off, crying silently again.

The doctor nodded. There had been a notation somewhere in the voluminous documentation he had scanned that Alice and Charly had a relationship for a short time; no doubt she was feeling the loss of that connection more than Charly, who either didn't remember it or had a fleeting memory that would have been so tenuous that it couldn't be understood. "I understand. It could be very confusing for Charly once he starts going through the sedimental reversal - will you be there to help him?"

"Yes." The word was said softly, but with conviction.

"Well, I'd need his latest test scores to use as a baseline. And I'll have to really go over the timeline of his previous procedure and the path of his abilities. Even after the treatment it will take time before the effect, if any, becomes apparent. At that point, we hope that the reversal stops at some point that is beneficial to the patient, and that the point reached remains permanent afterward. It would be helpful if Charly could stay in a facility so that his progress could be monitored more closely."

"Like a zoo animal?"

"Not at all! I have the upmost respect for Charly as a person both in his present state and what he might achieve or, you might say, reattain. Do you think he'll agree?" Stuart asked.

"He agreed to the first one; I'm sure the prospect of getting smarter, or at least remembering more, would be attractive to him."

"Then arrange to bring him in; I'll conduct an interview with the two of you and we'll go from there. Let us hope that we succeed on some level." The doctor pulled his feet off the desk and stood before coming back around the desk and holding out his arm for Alice to take.

She rose and started toward the door. "How soon can we come in?"

Stuart thought for a moment. "You only have tomorrow left for this week; let's say next week, any day from Wednesday to Friday. Call the office and they can set an appointment for you two to come in. I'll arrange my time accordingly."

"Thank you doctor; it means very much to me" Alice said with just a slight hope in her voice.

"You're very welcome. I hope it means very much to Charly too, even though he might not realize it yet" he responded with a slight smile. "Good day, Miss Kinnian."

...

"Good morning, Charly."

"Good morning, Miss Kinnian. Did I fall down and bump my head?" Charly felt the bandage wrapped around his head, covering up the area that Dr. Stewart accessed the inner-cranial area.

"No Charly, you didn't fall down. The doctors worked on your head to help you remember. Do you feel any different?"

"My head hurts a little."

"No, I mean how do you feel on the inside."

"Oh. Okay, I guess. I've never been here before."

"No, this is a new place for you. While you stay here, the doctors are going to ask you a lot of questions. Is that okay?"

"Sure." Charly ran his fingers through his hair and encountered the bandage again. "Did I fall down and bump my head?" he asked sincerely.

...

"That's to be expected, Miss Kinnian."

"But his memory is getting worse!"

"No, I don't think so. I've been monitoring the situation through the two-way glass. Remember, to get to the older memories we have to get past the most recent ones. Part of the reversal process is going to affect his short-term memory for a bit, I'm afraid. He remembers you because it is a much older memory that persists through all his recent cycle; I wouldn't expect him to have any memory of immediately before our procedure. Of course I have patients who exhibit the exact opposite trait, but in this case I'm not alarmed with the behavior. You just have to give it some time to take effect is all."

"It's a bit frustrating answering some of the same questions over and over again."

"I understand. I have patients whose caregivers have the same issues. Remember, the patient doesn't know any different; they're trusting us to be the same person all the time, and to be truthful with them" Stuart explained. "As a teacher, I think you're capable of handling it even if it is difficult; think of what we're hoping to accomplish."

"I'm trying."

...

Alice went through answering some of the same questions again. She then went down through the standard list to ask Charly. It was a near duplicate until she came to the question "Do you have any pets?" Charly paused, started to answer, and paused again. "What's wrong, Charly?" she asked.

"I don't know. I don't think I have any pets, but I started to answer something different. It's silly I guess."

"What were you going to answer that was so silly?"

"That I have a pet mouse."

Alice gasped slightly, but recovered quickly. "What was the mouse's name?"

"I don't remember. I can almost, but then the idea leaves. I think I did have a mouse though, once. Maybe."

...

"What did you just call me?" Alice asked excitedly on the morning of the second day.

"Alice. Your name is Alice" Charly stated matter-of-factly.

"That's right!" she said, before reining in her enthusiasm. She still had to answer a lot of the same questions each session, but this was the first time he hadn't called her Miss Kinnian. "Do you remember when you first called me that?"

"No" he admitted.

"That's okay; in fact, it's wonderful. I think your memory is improving, Charly."

"That's good. I want to remember better."

That afternoon Charly refused to talk to her. Alice hurriedly consulted Dr. Stewart to see what was wrong, after which Stuart himself went in and talked to Charly alone before returning.

"It's alright I think, Miss Kinnian. Charly explained it to me - he doesn't want to talk to you because he's afraid he's going to go back to being less smart."

"But he did the same...same...wait. That happened before, when he first started to regress. I know he didn't hate me, but he didn't want me to be around and see him return to his old self. If that's the case...that means he's still improving if he remembers that."

"That's right, and he doesn't remember his previous days in here still. He thinks he's still declining from the first time, so I proposed something to help him; I had him write down what we discussed, so later if he still doesn't remember then he can see that and _know_ that he's making progress. It will be in his own hand, so he'll recognize it. Go back this evening and try talking with him; if he still refuses remind him to look at the notes - that should help."

...

The third day Alice went in prepared for the same routine but was surprised.

"Hello, Alice. Do you still want to marry me?" Charly asked immediately in greeting.

Alice fainted.

She came to lying on a bed. She turned her head and saw Charly watching her from a chair, a look of concern on his face. "Are you okay Alice?"

"I'm sorry, I kind of blanked out there for a moment - I...I don't know what happened. I walked in, said hello, and suddenly things went all fuzzy. How did I get here?"

"I caught you before you fell and carried you here. I think it might have happened when I asked about getting married" Charly guessed.

He guessed correctly. Alice got dizzy again, but gripped the side of the bed tightly to maintain her emotional stability. "You REMEMBER that?"

"Sure, it just happened a few minutes ago."

"No," she shook her head "I mean you remember I asked you to marry me?"

"I do" he said, and smiled at the pun before sobering quickly.. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of it. I remember last night even without reading my notes. But you asked me before that, twice in fact; I'm not sure how long ago since I've lost track of time in here, but it was before Dr. Stewart treated me I know. I talked to him this morning before you came in; he thinks I've stabilized in my progress, now that I can remember new things again. Are you sure you're okay?"

Alice sniffled. "I'm sorry, I'm just so happy for you. You're smart again. No, no, no, I don't mean that. I mean you're not retarded...no, I mean..."

Charly leaned over and brushed away a tear from her as it tracked from her eye toward her ear. "I know what you mean. The doctor says I'm not a genius like before, but that I'm a lot better than I used to be. He hopes I'll stay this way now and not go back to how I was when he met me."

Although it was everything she could have possibly hoped for, Alice was swimming in thoughts and emotions that she had told herself were unrealistic. "I'm so glad, Charly. Maybe you can be happy now."

"I was happy before" Charly admitted. Alice's face distorted into the beginnings of disgust. "No wait, let me explain" Charly interrupted. "I mean to say I was happy before because, even though I wanted to learn better than I could, I didn't know exactly what I was missing; it's like they say, sometimes ignorance _is_ bliss. I was kind of blind to being an outsider - but now I can say I'm _happier_; I understand so much more and I'm smart enough to know that I can't know everything."

"That's good, I suppose. How much do you remember from before?"

"A lot of it, although I don't remember a lot of the science stuff I was working on. I remember you turned me down when I proposed."

Reflexively, Alice blurted out "You turned me down too! Twice!" before apologizing. It had hurt to be turned down, and then Charly had told her to leave. She knew why, but it didn't make the hurt any less painful.

"We both had our reasons for saying no at the time I suppose, but that makes us even. I believe now, I really do, that marriage isn't about being able to promise the other person a happy future because no one can guarantee that. It's not even about promising a long future; I don't know what I'll be like in a week much less a decade. But I do know that now - right now - I'm ready to marry you if you'll have me and since it's my turn again I'll ask: Will you marry me?"

A dozen Charlys danced in Alice's eyes as her tears created a kaleidoscope of her vision. "Come what may" she said softly, accepting the offer from all the Charlys she saw.

"Good. I promised Dr. Stewart this morning that he could be my best man" Charly grinned.

The End

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**A/N: I only saw the movie and never read the book, but it ended on a somewhat depressing note for Alice. While writing to a friend about a different situation I mentioned sediment in an entirely different context, and my mind made the pun 'sedimental journey' from a song title. After that I wrote down the title and waited until a story idea came along that fit it. Couldn't be any easier, right? **


End file.
